


The Yule Ball

by LilahMontgomery



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Frenemies, Romantic Comedy, cannon fix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 17:45:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11674023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilahMontgomery/pseuds/LilahMontgomery
Summary: Disaster strikes Hermione as Krumb falls ill on the eve of The Yule Ball, leaving her stuck with none other than Draco Malfoy!





	The Yule Ball

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [CanonFixFest](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/CanonFixFest) collection. 



> Massive Beta love to Over8000!

Hermione paced from one side of the room to the other, becoming more and more upset. It had seemed like a good idea last week. Now that she had dressed in her gown and was in the middle of putting on her make-up, she was having second thoughts.

With a sigh, she placed her hands carefully on the cold stone of the dormitory window ledge as she attempted to clear her thoughts and centre her emotions.

There was no one else to go with. If she wanted to go to the Yule Ball, she had to go with  _ him _ . She raised her eyes to her own face reflected in the dark pane. 

“And to hell with what Ron and Harry think!” she told herself.  

 

“But I don’t understand why you agreed! She’s one of  _ them _ …” Crabb complained as he dusted Draco’s shoulder of lint. 

Draco’s eyes snapped to him, which served enough to silence him. Crabb stepped away, stooping low. 

Goyle presented Draco with cufflinks and seemed to have decided to stay silent. 

“I had to, Crabb. There weren’t any good looking ones left and I can hardly attend alone, can I? Besides-” Draco grinned and narrowed his eyes at his own reflection in the gilded mirror in front of him, “-why would I pass up the opportunity to utterly humiliate the Mudblood?”

 

“This is such a stupid idea,” Hermione confessed to Lavender. Her friend looked up from the pile of formal shoes in Hermione’s dorm wardrobe and rolled her eyes. 

“Honestly, Hermione, aren’t you being a little dramatic? He’s not bad looking, and at least and you can ditch him after the first dance!” 

“I can’t! Then it’ll look like I only went with him because I was desperate!”

 

“She only agreed to it because she was desperate,” Draco chuckled. He sipped his fruit punch and reclined, now dressed in formal dress robes, on the sofa in the Slytherin common room. His subordinates stood beside him with concerned looks on their faces.

“You’ll humiliate her by ditching her after the first dance-right, Draco?” Crabb pressed. 

Draco scoffed.

“Of course not, you simpleton! I’m going to give her the worst night of her life. She’ll want to get away as soon as possible but I won’t let her. I’m going to make sure her friends know who she’s there with, all the staff, even the house elves! Everyone will see her on  _ my  _ arm and all those smug Gryffindors will  _ hate  _ her for it! And when asked why she’s with me she either has to admit no one asked her or lie and say she  _ wanted  _ to be there with me. Oh, gentlemen!” Draco threw his hands over his head and smirked at both of them. “I can’t  _ wait  _ to see Potter’s face!” 

 

“You look beautiful, Hermione! How's my hair?” Lavender spun on the spot, allowing the charm to work and sparkles to fly from her in all directions. 

Hermione glanced at her friend and smiled weakly. “You look lovely,” she replied. Her heart sank as she thought how she  _ should  _ feel on the eve of the Yule Ball. Instead of excitement, she felt anxious and angry at herself.  She should have said yes to Ron when he'd asked her to go with him, she concluded, as she sprayed her hair with a fixing potion.

At the time, she had been asked out by the one and only Viktor Krum, only for him to get ill at the last minute and leave her dateless. Draco Malfoy had openly laughed at her situation despite falling on a similar patch of bad luck himself. 

“Dragon Pox are very contagious, I'm surprised the school hasn't got it!” Ron had stated upon hearing the news. 

Hermione sighed and checked herself over in the mirror. She looked lovely. It was a shame so much effort would be wasted on Draco Malfoy. 

 

Draco stood at the top of the stairs expectantly. He wasn't sure why but he was nervous. His heart beat far too quickly in his chest and his palms had started to sweat. 

“Are you alright, Draco?” Goyle asked beside him. The blond Slytherin scoffed and adjusted his tie. 

“The mudblood is going to make me late, that's all,” he dismissed. 

A stunning girl appeared at the bottom of the stairs before him. She had sleek, chestnut hair which caught the light in a wonderfully pleasing way. Her slim figure was wrapped in a silk, pink dress highlighting her creamy shoulders and stunningly bright eyes. 

Draco allowed himself to stare; he wished that he was about to walk in with her rather than the frizzy haired-bookworm he was supposed to be taking. 

Then she walked up to him and, slowly, he recognised her. His mouth went dry. 

“...Granger?!” Draco exclaimed. 

She eyed him with an odd mix of approval and disgust. 

“Malfoy.” 

Draco grinned and shooed his friends away. They scampered off, neither able to take their eyes off the brunette beauty as they left. 

Draco could not quite believe his luck as he looked her over. Her hair shone and looked healthy... He wanted to run his hands through it and see if it smelled as good as it looked. It probably had the scent of strawberries, he mused. The jewels in her ears and her necklace sparkled as they caught the light, like tiny stars which had come to rest on her to amplify her beauty. Her lips had been painted cherry red and, oh! how he longed suddenly to taste them… 

“You scrub up alright, Granger,” he stated as nastily as he could. “I would almost mistake you for someone worthy of a place at this school.” 

Granger narrowed her eyes, and Draco could feel the waves of fury coming from her. 

“And you could almost pass for a gentleman,” she spat in reply. 

Draco ran his hand through his platinum hair and smirked. “That's the difference between you and I, I suppose. I don't need to dress up to  _ be somebody _ \- I already am.” 

Granger looked for a second like she was going to hit him again, so he grabbed her hand and tucked it into the crease of his elbow. 

“Shall we,” he suggested and led her towards the door. 

 

“I knew this was a mistake!” Hermione told herself as she walked arm in arm with Draco Malfoy towards the dance. She felt humiliated having gone to so much effort only for him to gawk, then dismiss her. 

Draco looked handsome in his dress robes; he had an air or someone who belonged in them. 

For Hermione, who had for her life had trouble fitting it wherever she was, this stirred up old feelings and drained away some of her confidence. And people had started to stare. 

Hermione wanted the ground to swallow her as the couple was recognised and the whispering began. 

She glanced up at Draco. He held her hand onto his arm with his own, encased in a silk white glove, and showed no sign he wanted to let go. He wore a sarcastic, smirking expression- almost victorious and grinned at the Slytherins they passed. 

Hermione felt the need to beat him at his own game and decided to walk beside him with her head held high and nodded greeting at anyone who she caught staring. 

“What are you doing?” Draco muttered to her through clenched teeth. 

“Why, just walking to the hall. Something the matter?” 

A smug sense of satisfaction rose up in her chest as she noticed the angry, uncomfortable look which had taken over his face. Encouraged, she stepped up her enthusiasm. 

“Hi, Lavender!” She called. She felt Draco wince next to her. 

They entered the Great Hall and heard a gasp as they descended the stairs. 

 

Draco floated down each step as gracefully as he could muster. His plan to embarrass Hermione was failing-she was wise to it and clearly had planned to use the situation to make a fool of  _ him  _ instead. Still, she was a beauty and she had turned up to the Yule Ball on  _ his  _ arm. The night was still young and she probably thought he wasn't in this for the whole night. He chuckled to himself. She had an  _ ugly  _ reality check coming if that was what she thought… 

“Hermione?! What The Hell!” 

Draco almost squeaked with delight as he heard Ron Weasley’s voice from by the dance floor. He was suddenly confronted by the bright green eyes of a furious Harry Potter. 

“What do you think you're playing at?” Harry spat at him through gritted teeth. 

Draco shook off the surprise and eased his stance. 

“Potter, Weasley,” he greeted, “you like my date?” 

“Shut it, Malfoy!” Hermione snapped before turning to her friends, “He was available and asked me to go with him. I was going to have one dance in the spirit of everyone coming together…” 

“As if you didn't  _ want  _ to come with me,” Draco teased, enjoying the twisted anger on the faces of the Gryffindors before him. “Knows who’s worth the time, this one. Can you  _ really  _ blame her wanting to raise her muggleborn standing?” 

“Sod off, Malfoy!” Ron replied, glaring at them both. Hermione tried to say something but Ron grabbed Harry's robes and dragged him away before she could get words out. 

“Well,” Draco said with a click of his tongue. “I think that went rather well…” 

He grunted as Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. He looked down at her while doing his best not to be too distracted by her elegance. 

“I know what you're doing and it isn't going to work,” Hermione said firmly.

“I don't know what you mean.” 

“Yes, you damn well do!” 

“Ok, I do,” Draco laughed. “But if you don't play along, I will tell everyone no one else wanted to go with you!” 

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I'll just explain that no one wanted to go with  _ you  _ either!” 

Draco grinned and allowed himself to get closer to her. 

“And who's going to believe  _ that _ ,” he muttered. 

Hermione looked as if she had been beaten. Her eyes fell to the floor and her shoulders slumped. For some reason, the joy of seeing her defeated didn't quite come. 

Draco shook his head and glanced around. 

“Let's get some drinks,” he suggested and led her to the table before she could argue. 

 

She felt very ‘stared at’ as she sipped her drink while half listening to tales of ‘father’ spewing from her date’s lips. Draco was confident when he spoke, passionate and eloquent. It was a shame about the subject matter. 

“Can we perhaps talk about something else?” Hermione suggested. 

Draco looked perturbed but smiled and raised his glass in acknowledgement. 

Hermione thought long and hard about what to talk to him about but could only think of one thing. “Why don't you leave Harry alone? Why do you keep attacking him?” 

Draco sighed heavily and placed his glass behind him on the plinth of a statue. He looked at her firmly. 

“I'm not discussing that,” he stated. 

Hermione glared back but her heart softened as she met his eyes. He was very handsome in the candlelight. It actually was surprising no other girls had grabbed him after his date had fallen ill… 

“Fine, but this isn't over,” Hermione conceded. 

He folded his arms and smirked at her, flashing his white teeth as he did so. 

Just as she was about to start thinking of something else to talk about, Professor McGonagall walked by. 

_ Please don't look over here!  _ Hermione begged in her head. 

“Professor! Good evening,” called Malfoy. 

Hermione was mortified and tried to hide behind the statue beside her but it was too late, the professor had seen them. 

McGonagall swept over and cast a severe look at the couple. 

“Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger…” she greeted hesitantly, “are you here  _ together _ ?” 

“In the spirit of the Yule Ball and the idea of coming together…” Hermione answered quickly. 

To her further horror, Draco grabbed her around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. 

“Don't be shy, Hermione, no one minds that you stopped resisting me!” he said. 

Hermione gave the professor a weak smile before tugging herself free. 

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. 

“I see…” she replied, “Well I do hope you will keep each other out of trouble. I don't want any shenanigans this evening.” 

“Yes, Professor…” Hermione said to her shoes. 

“Sure, whatever.” Draco agreed. 

Another eyebrow raise and the professor walked off into the throng of staff and students, leaving the pair in relative solitude once more. 

Hermione punched her date’s arm in annoyance. “Why do you  _ insist  _ on embarrassing me? Isn't showing up with me and using me as a way of attending enough for you?” 

Draco clicked his tongue and didn't answer. His attention seemed to suddenly be on the band on stage who seemed to be warming up to play… 

 

Draco felt anxious as he watched the musicians take out and tune their instruments. He couldn't help but worry he would make a mistake in the dance while everyone watched. The idea was to humiliate the Mudblood, not himself… 

He mentally shook himself and caught hold of Hermione’s hand. He tried to ignore how beautifully soft it was and grinned in the face of her shocked expression. 

“We'd better get to the dance floor. I want to be one of the first on there when the champions have had their turn in the spotlight,” he explained. 

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but Draco dragged her to the dance floor instead. Then he took her hand in his own and placed the other gently on her waist.

Draco took her hand in his and placed his other hand gently on her waist. 

“Ready?” he asked, grinning. 

  
  


Hermione rolled her eyes and was somewhat forced into letting him lead. Draco had perfect timing, , though his turns were a little more dramatic than Hermione would have liked. She wanted the ground to swallow her every time she looked around to see the staring eyes following her. 

“Having fun, Granger,” he asked sarcastically with a smirk. 

Hermione glared back but noticed her chance for revenge. She waved over his shoulder with the biggest smile she could manage. 

“Professor Snape! Good evening,” she called as they whipped past one section of the crowd. 

 

Draco physically jumped and looked around frantically while Hermione openly laughed at him.  Draco realized he'd been tricked. He glared at her and grabbed her roughly back to his body.

  
  


“Very funny,” he snapped. Draco wrapped his arm around the back of her waist and pulled her in so that she was almost nose to nose with him.

Hermione’s breath caught as she realised she could just lean forwards ever so slightly and her lips would brush against his. The thought was surprisingly tempting… Draco pulled Hermione flush against him and gave her his best death stare. He did notice, however, that it was not having the desired effect…Her eyes flicked to his mouth and she had unconsciously moistened her own. The blush which came to her cheeks, combined with the shine on her lips, made her look so kissable he nearly bowed his head and surrendered to the moment. 

_ Bloody Mudblood, why'd she have to be pretty?  _

He pushed her away and clicked his fingers at one of the musicians. 

“I would like to request a song for the next dance,” he said with authority. 

“Ah-sure, what do you want?” The musician replied. 

Draco looked triumphantly down on Hermione and saw the girl's expression change to one of slight anxiety. 

_ Make a fool of me, will you?  _

“Tanner’s concerto please,” Draco replied. 

“What's that? Why did you choose that,” Hermione asked.  

Draco cackled. “t's a piece of music in 15/8. The beats are all over the place making it almost impossible to dance to. It's also extremely fast so I hope you're a quick study. Father taught me to dance to it as a party trick when I was a boy.” 

Hermione looked furious, which pleased Draco no end. “I'm going to look ridiculous, you cruel, pathetic little beast!” 

“Yes, you are,” Draco mused and pulled her against him again for effect. “What a shame…” 

“I hate you!” 

 

The music started and Hermione could hear the unusual time signature of the piece immediately. It was unpleasant and it made the timings impossible to anticipate. She was bounced and dragged across the dance floor by an enthusiastic Draco who seemed to be enjoying her inability to keep up immensely. 

 

The dance floor cleared as annoyed students did not even bother trying, so the pair were left twirling along with all eyes on them. Hermione assumed while blushing that this was Draco’s aim to begin with and his face certainly looked ecstatic at the result of his song choice. 

She rolled her eyes and allowed him to drag her along. 

“You're happy now, aren't you?” She spat. 

“Happy that you're not able to be ‘Miss Perfect’ this evening, yes,” he answered and pulled her into an off beat twirl. 

Hermione felt incredibly embarrassed as she stared around. She just wanted to let the ground swallow her. Everyone had now seen her with Draco Malfoy and he was making a fool of her. 

She had no choice, she had to do something drastic… 

 

Draco could hardly believe how easy it was to humiliate the mousy haired beauty. She had turned violent shade of crimson by the time the song ended; he bowed low and sarcastically to the irritated group of onlookers who had arranged themselves around the dance floor. He grinned at Hermione only to be enveloped in a warm hug by the young woman. 

She released him and smiled brightly. 

“That was a wonderful experience, my dear Draco!” She exclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear. He was stunned into silence. 

_ What's she up to?!  _

“You were so kind to invite me to accompany you after Krum became ill, I'm so pleased I finally agreed after you asked  _ so many times _ !” 

“I didn't ask you loads of times!” He snapped even louder than she had been. “You agreed because you're a desperate goody-two shoes who no one else wanted to go with!” 

“Oh, yes, of course,” Hermione agreed with a smirk and a wink. 

Draco was horrified. A few of the other students had started to giggle and point, and then the whispering started. Concerned about his reputation, Draco grabbed his date’s arm and led her to the other side of the room by the crystal punch bowl. 

“How bloody  _ dare  _ you,” he muttered with menace.

Hermione giggled in response and poured herself a drink. 

“You shouldn't have drawn so much attention to us,  _ my dear Draco _ ,” she said. 

Angrily, he snatched the drink off her and downed it himself. 

Just as he reached for another one, he noticed Potter and Weasley, now dateless, approaching them. 

_ This'll show her! Make a fool of me, will you!  _

He turned and gently ran his finger down her soft, bare arm, leaving a slight glimmer of magic as he did so. She shivered at his touch and looked at him curiously. 

Draco placed his hand on Hermione’s waist and ever so slowly bent his head down, his lips almost brushing against hers. 

Hermione spoke in a whisper to him. “What do you think you're…” 

Draco leaned in even closer until he could feel her soft breath on his skin and see her beautiful eyes in tiny detail. 

In turn, Hermione placed her hand on his cheek and stared at him, willing him to close the gap and kiss her… 

“Hermione?!” Weasley’s voice snapped. 

Draco broke free of her embrace and laughed so hard his cheeks hurt as Granger and Weasley exchanged angry words. 

Potter strolled over to him and glared. “You're enjoying this, aren't you? Why did you come here with her if the point was just to upset her?” 

Draco sneered at the question and rolled his eyes. 

“Because with you as the so called ‘Champion’, I wanted to have some fun. Both of our dates are ill so I seized the opportunity to cause trouble to your little group of heroes. That's all.” 

“Is it?” Potter asked with an edge of suspicion. 

“You know what to do in future then, Ronald! Ask me before someone else does!” Hermione screamed and took off in the direction of the exit. 

Furious at her sudden flight, Draco rounded on Ron. 

“What did you say to her?” He yelled. 

Ron backed away slightly but looked haughty and annoyed. 

“I told her off for coming to the ball with the likes of you, if you must know!” He returned. 

Draco felt pure rage and slammed the other boy into the wall with both hands gripping the front of his ridiculous dress robes. 

“Who are you to tell her who she can and can’t come to the ball with? Who are you to judge  _ her _ ?” 

Ron blinked in reply and stared open jawed at Draco's reaction. 

Draco pushed himself away and bolted out of the hall after Hermione. 

 

Hermione sat alone on the steps near the Great Hall and sobbed into her hands. 

She had known her friends would not be happy about her going with Malfoy, yet somehow she assumed that they would giggle about it together one day. Now it felt as if Ron would never speak to her again. To her utter amazement, Draco quietly sat down beside her. 

He kept his eyes forward but seemed relaxed. A smile played on his lips. 

“It's a shame you're a muggle-born, Granger,” he stated, “I had a good time tonight.” 

Hermione stared at him. 

“You're also bloody stunning…” Draco added. 

He turned and leant towards her before placing a delicate kiss on her cheek. 

“It's a shame that's a problem for you,” Hermione found herself saying in reply. 

Draco put his arm around her shoulders and drew her to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the heat from his body. 

“Yes,” he said quietly, “it really is..” 

 

**_End_ **

 


End file.
